Loading…
Safely reducing abdominal/pelvic computed tomography imaging in pediatric trauma: a quality improvement initiative
Objective Intra-abdominal injury occurs in less than 15% of pediatric trauma activations but can be life-threatening. Computed tomography (CT) imaging is commonly ordered in pediatric trauma, even when intra-abdominal injury risk is low. We aimed to reduce abdominal/pelvic CT rates in children at ve...
Saved in:
Published in: | Canadian journal of emergency medicine 2022-08, Vol.24 (5), p.535-543 |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | Objective
Intra-abdominal injury occurs in less than 15% of pediatric trauma activations but can be life-threatening. Computed tomography (CT) imaging is commonly ordered in pediatric trauma, even when intra-abdominal injury risk is low. We aimed to reduce abdominal/pelvic CT rates in children at very low risk for intra-abdominal injury requiring trauma activation at our pediatric trauma centre.
Methods
We implemented a quality improvement initiative using the Model for Improvement in children 0–15.99 years of age who activated a trauma response and were evaluated for intra-abdominal injury. Interventions included clinical decision support, institutional education, and individual audit and feedback. Our primary outcome was abdominal/pelvic CT rate in patients at very low risk for intra-abdominal injury. Balancing measures included CT scans ordered within 24 h of emergency department (ED) assessment and return to ED or hospitalization within 72 h for missed intra-abdominal injury. Statistical process control was used to evaluate rates over time.
Results
The baseline period (April 1, 2016 – November 30, 2017) included 359 trauma patients with a CT rate of 26.8% (95% CI 20.5–33.8%) in those at low risk for intra-abdominal injury. The intervention period (Dec 1, 2017–Dec 31, 2019) included 445 patients with a CT rate in low-risk patients of 6.8% (95% CI 3.2–12.6%), demonstrating an absolute reduction of 20.0% (95% CI 12.2–27.7%,
p
|
---|---|
ISSN: | 1481-8035 1481-8043 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s43678-022-00311-2 |